The Kansas City Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management hosted its annual night at the T-Bones last week. Over 50 friends and members (above) were in attendance for the T-Bones win, with four home runs before the 7th inning stretch.
The warm night of baseball was preceded by a BBQ cookout in the parking lot and networking hour. Above, Bob Paradise, Paradise Asphalt Maintenance, and Steve Lemon, Siemens, discuss the finer points of parking lot maintenance, fire alarms and strategies of baseball prior to the game.
Kelly Masten, Cassidy Turley Real Estate, Nicole Nelson, ISS Facility Solutions, and Linda Myers, CB Richard Ellis, enjoyed the warm weather. IREM Kansas City is a Five Star Chapter (a top rating) with over 300 active members. They strive to promote ethics, education and networking among their group of real estate managers.
Taking in the game with a few cold ones in the stands were Linda Myers, Nicole Westerbeck, Passco, and Tina Dubose, Passco. Below, Anne Lemon, Block Real Estate Services LLC and President-Elect IREM Kansas City, with Kelly Masten.
Speaker emphasizes importance of CREW Network for women
This month’s CREW luncheon featured speaker Collete English Dixon, president-elect of CREW Network, an organization that strives to advance the success of women in commercial real estate. Dixon is Vice President, Transactions, for Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI), a business unit of Prudential Financial. As of January 2008, she is co-leader of PREI’s national investment dispositions program, which is responsible for managing the sale of PREI’s investment properties on behalf of its clients. In 2009, the PREI dispositions team completed the sale of more than $1.1 billion in portfolio assets.
CREW board members with Dixon – from left back row: Diana Ennis, Stewart Title (KC CREW Chapter President), Michelle Suter, Commercial Law Group (KC CREW Past President), Linda Laurence, Missouri Bank (Director of Sponsorship), Shannon O’Doherty, Commerce Bank (Director of Community Services), Marcia Charney (front row from left), Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP (KC CREW President-Elect), and Jill Biesma, Environmental Advisors & Engineers (Director of Communications).
CREW Network provides members tools to spread professional contacts, knowledge and resources. As past president of CREW Chicago and immediate past chair of the CREW Foundation, Dixon emphasized how important networking is for CREW members. Some interesting facts about CREW Network members: Members represent every aspect of the commercial real estate industry, including law, leasing, brokerage, property management, finance, acquisitions, and engineering; more than 63 percent are CEOs, presidents, owners, partners, or senior managers; they average 14 years of experience in commercial real estate; and more than 75 percent have received or given a referral from or to another member; and nearly 50 percent report having conducted a commercial real estate transaction with another member.